Cost calculator
GPU vs API Break-even Calculator
Size a self-hosted GPU fleet from measured throughput and realistic utilization, price it against any API model at your traffic, and see the monthly volume where self-hosting starts to win.
Monthly cost comparison
Calculating…
Results update as you change the inputs.
Methodology and assumptions
API cost = monthly requests × that model's per-request cost from its official input and output rates (no caching or batch). Self-hosted capacity per GPU = output tokens/s × 3,600 × billed hours × utilization ÷ output tokens per request. GPUs needed = ⌈requests ÷ capacity⌉, each billed for every hour; self-hosted cost = GPUs × hourly price × hours + fixed ops cost.
Break-even is the smallest monthly volume where self-hosting costs no more than the API. Because GPUs come in whole units, cost is a step function and self-hosting can lose again just after each new GPU is added. GPU price and throughput are your inputs: StackCalcs does not publish GPU benchmarks. Use throughput measured for your model, context length, and batch size; prefill (input) work is assumed to be included in that measured rate. The self-hosted model is not assumed to match the API model's quality. Redundancy, peak headroom, storage, egress, and contracts are excluded. Formula version 2026-10-01.
Official API pricing sources:
Pricing last verified:
Official source: Vendor API pricing pages (all listed below)
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the GPU vs API Break-even Calculator calculate?
Size a self-hosted GPU fleet from measured throughput and realistic utilization, price it against any API model at your traffic, and see the monthly volume where self-hosting starts to win.
How accurate is the GPU vs API Break-even Calculator?
It is a planning estimate based on the inputs, formula, assumptions, and sources shown on this page. Actual prices, invoices, taxes, discounts, and outcomes can differ.
Which pricing source does the GPU vs API Break-even Calculator use?
The calculator links to Vendor API pricing pages (all listed below) as its official source. The displayed pricing or reference data was last verified on 2026-10-08.
Are calculator inputs saved or sent to analytics?
Inputs are processed in your browser. Calculator values are not included in analytics events.